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Mesa News
Mesa hikes vehicle impound fee $150
By Jason Massad, Tribune
January 14, 2007


The Mesa Police Department keeps a binder full of complaints by insurance adjusters and automobile owners who think they’ve paid too much over the years after vehicles are towed and impounded. That cost is about to go up, substantially.



The Mesa City Council approved last week a new $150 police administrative fee for anyone claiming an impounded vehicle, on top of whatever is charged by the towing company for hauling and storing it.

A state law passed in 2005 led to a spike in the number of vehicles that police agencies across the state must impound.

Cars are locked away for 30 days if drivers are pulled over and can’t show evidence they have valid driver’s licenses, if they are cited for driving under the influence, or if they can’t produce documentation after a crash.

The Mesa Police Department impounded 3,000 vehicles in the first year of the new law, according to city statistics.

The new police administrative fee is expected to generate about $450,000 next year and could provide revenue to hire a new officer to help the lone officer who now manages the impounded vehicles for the city, said Mesa police spokesman Sgt. Chuck Trapani.

Some residents, however, said the fees attached to cars towed in Mesa are already too high.

George Billings, who used to tow vehicles for banks in the area, complained to Mesa police in 2001 about what appeared to be delay tactics used by Cactus Towing that he said were used to drive charges up. The vehicles he was sent to retrieve weren’t available in many instances, which led to more storage fees, he said.

At the time, Cactus Towing was Mesa’s exclusive contractor and had been for years. Now, Cactus Towing is responsible for half of the zones in the city. Cars that are held at the towing yard for 30 days can rack up a $300 to $400 charge “easy,” Billings said.

“Some of these people ... can barely afford to get it out,” he said.

Roberto Reveles, a Hispanic community activist who lives in Gold Canyon, said the law that requires police to impound vehicles targets Hispanics, especially undocumented workers who can’t receive a driver’s license under state law.

The law can already be very costly, he said. The new fee just adds to the expense for those who are trying to get by.

“When you consider the additional fees — it can be horrible to people that are already struggling,” he said.

Reveles said he knows a day laborer who lost a car about six months ago after it was impounded. The man had no driver’s license, and the title to the vehicle was in the glove compartment. The towing company wouldn’t allow the man access to the vehicle because he couldn’t prove that he owned it, Reveles said. The man decided to walk away from it.

“That’s hard-earned money for these guys,” Reveles said. “For these guys, it could be the difference between a job with income and no job and no income.”
Contact Jason Massad by email, or phone (480) 898-6842